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Missy Rosenberry: Webster students experience life on the air

12:03 a.m. EST November 9, 2013

Webster Thomas seniors, from left, Nick Ferrara, Katie Bracht, Theresa Foti and Scott St. George, and Jordan Martin on top, are among the students who have radio shifts this semester.
(Photo:
MISSY ROSENBERRY
)

“The best in alternative music since 1985, this is 90.5 FM WBER, the only station that matters.”

She’s required to say the phrase at least once during the hour-long radio show that she and co-host Jordan Martin broadcast every Friday afternoon. She also has to create playlists for the show, write scripts, introduce songs and answer the request line. Basically, everything a big-time radio DJ has to do.

But Theresa (or “T Fo” to her fans) isn’t your average radio DJ. She’s a senior at Webster Thomas High School, one of 20 Webster Thomas and Schroeder high school students who take to the airwaves every weekday to broadcast an hour of alternative music.

Their show is hosted by WBER FM, a community radio station owned and operated by Monroe #1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services. The station’s primary purpose is as a training ground for students taking the BOCES Radio and Television class. The high school program is an extension of that, giving thousands more students each year the opportunity to gain real-life radio experience.

And “real-life experience” means just that. In addition to writing scripts and playlists and talking live on the air, the students have to coordinate with the other DJs, their advisers and WBER’s station manager, while always making sure they’re following FCC guidelines.

It all adds up to some valuable experience, as WBER station manager Joey Guisto pointed out.

“The radio industry is one of the most difficult fields to break into,” he said, “so any experience that kids can get at this age ... will only help them even more down the road.” If nothing else, their improved communication skills and self-confidence will benefit them in any profession.

The Webster Thomas studio, tucked into a far back corner of the high school, isn’t roomy by any stretch of the imagination. It’s actually more like a large closet. Inside, the DJs — who work in teams of two — share space with a station manager, a computer workstation, a table piled high with scripts, an easy chair, a couch, a microphone, a sound board and a string of Christmas lights.

But despite the cramped quarters, it is a real studio, and walking up to that microphone for the first time can be intimidating. That was certainly the case for Theresa.

“I was nervous all day in school and I was trying to calm myself down,” she said about her inaugural on-air shift. “My hands were literally shaking, and my heart was beating so fast. I didn’t tell my parents or anyone to listen to me because I was so nervous.”

It gets easier every time, though, and it didn’t take long before the students hit their stride, stopped being nervous, and started having some real fun.

‘Cause let’s face it. Pretty much everything about being a radio DJ is cool.

Read more on the Our Towns East Extra Facebook page. Email Missy at dandceastextra@gmail.com with east-side news and story ideas.

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Tune in to high school radio

Three east-side schools currently participate in the WBER radio club program, with shows every weekday.

Fairport High School broadcasts from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., Brighton High School from 2 to 3 p.m., and Webster from 4 to 5 p.m. Tune in to 90.5 FM or listen online at wber.monroe.edu.

The Webster Varsity Radio Club is also online at websterradio.org and on Twitter: @websterradio905.